Friday, November 19, 2010

Jarlsberg bacon puffs

Do you ever read a recipe and think "Now. Right now. I must make that RIGHT NOW"? That's what happened when I saw the gruyere cheese mini appetizers on Inside the Kaganoff Kitchen, my dear friend Rachel's ultra-fabulous blog. Perfect little puffs of cheese - that's exactly what I wanted at that exact moment.

Except I had no gruyere. And no chives. I had Jarlsberg and green onions. And I was also in the mood for bacon. So, as cooks often do, I made Rachel's cheese puffs my way. I know hers were delicious (everything she makes is delicious, and I say that as someone who has eaten at her table many times). Mine were too.

These are so light and cheesy that they almost taste like gougeres. They're far less trouble. I love the nuttiness of the Jarlsberg, but any similar cheese would work fine.

Whisk together the flour and baking powder in a large bowl. In a mixing cup, blend the buttermilk and the egg, then add them to the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Add the grated Jarlsberg, green onions, bacon, and pepper to taste. Rachel suggests letting the mixture rest 15 minutes, but I was way too impatient for that. Your call.

Divide the batter among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

15 comments:

Cheese AND bacon? Has my name all over it:) Gougeres are easy to make and if these little babies are even easier, I'll have to try them (plus, my daughter is coming home for Thanksgiving, and she'll love them).

I'm going to a potluck on Sunday night, and these look like such perfect appetizers to bring. I'm sure they would be a hit! You have been posting so many great recipes this week. I love these (and the artichoke soup looks fabulous too!) Thank you for sharing...I hope you have a wonderful weekend full of good eating and fun!

@Monet - if you're bringing them to a potluck, I would suggest scooping the batter into the muffin tins, transporting, and baking on-site if possible. They are really much much better straight out of the oven.

A little change in this recipe for less mess is rather than flour mix...use pillsbury buttermilk biscuits. Mix bacon onion and cheese with a little mayo to bind. Can also add a little tomato Use about 3/4 of a biscuit. Flatten the biscuit into a circle. Put a dollop of mix on biscuit and fold biscuit around mixture. Place biscuits in mini cupcake pan and bake at 400 until golden. friends call them crack biscuits

@Anonymous #1 - using prepared biscuit dough, that's an interesting twist! I don't think it would be quite the same, as these have more of a muffin-like quality, but I'm sure it's delicious nonetheless.

@Anonymous #2 - the artichoke soup is already here on the blog. Here's the link: http://www.inerikaskitchen.com/2010/11/artichoke-potato-soup-recipe.html